There is nothing more difficult to plan, more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to manage than the creation of a new order of things…Whenever his enemies have the ability to attack the innovator, they do so with the passion of partisans, while the others defend him sluggishly, so that the innovator and his party alike are vulnerable. - Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince (1513)
FTI intends to celebrate the innovators!
The intent of the Outstanding Facade Innovation award is to single out truly innovative contributions to the art, science or technology of the building skin, and to recognize and honor the innovator (individual[s] or organizations).
Such contributions can vary in nature, scope and scale ranging from material, process or product developments to novel project applications of new or existing technology, at the discretion of the jury.
We are using a very simple definition for a complex phenomenon:
An innovation is something new that creates value.
The value need not be monetary. The value can be for an organization, a social group or society at large, the environment or an ecosystem. There are both incremental innovations—building upon existing objects or systems—and radical innovations—those yielding disruptive change to established paradigms. We at FTI particularly value the latter given the need for radical improvement in buildings and urban habitat.
Submissions for the Outstanding Facade Innovation category will be evaluated in the overarching context of innovation and sustainability, which may include diverse considerations ranging from design concepts to project delivery strategies, supply chain management and lifecycle performance attributes.
The hierarchy of consideration for the Outstanding Facade Innovation Award will be:
10% — Clarity (narrative and graphic representation)
45% — Innovation (creativity, novelty and positive disruptive potential)
45% — Sustainability (The extent to which the innovation contributes to resilience and sustainability goals in buildings and urban habitat.)
Before beginning your submission, please review the following: